Farewell to Warwick family man Joe Abood

JOSEPH "Joe” Earl Abood was born on April 1, 1932, and could be described as life's true gentleman.

His parents Joe and Mary Abood lived in Acacia Ave in Warwick and he was the eldest of four boys, Brian (deceased), Max and Greg.

Joe passed away on September 15 this year at age 84.

He attended Christian Brothers College and as he was naturally a left-hander, he told the story that while at CBC the brothers made him learn to write right- handed and pushed him to perfect it. Typical of Joe being the perfectionist he was, he ended up with impeccable hand writing.

Joe was also a very astute sportsman at school, excelling in athletics, tennis and handball. Outside of school, Joe was a junior champion bike rider, winning many titles throughout Queensland.

Once Joe left school, he worked for Dunlop Tyres for more than 25 years and also worked as an auxiliary fireman in the Warwick and district area, before a career change working for Newey's Newsagency and later Hynes Newsagency until he retired.

He married Dulcie on January 30, 1960, and they enjoyed a loving marriage for 56 years.

In 1960, Joe transferred with work to Innisfail where he and Dulcie lived for three years.

Daughter Therese was born in 1961 before they moved back to Warwick where they were blessed with another four children, Michael (deceased), David, Andrea and Jeanette.

Joe was a loving father to all his children and enjoyed time with his grandchildren Joshua, Aiden, Michaela, Kara, Elise, Dannica, Nicholas, Taylah, Codie and Dimity and his great- grandchildren Ted, Max, Kennedy and Lincoln.

He was affectionately known as Jamby by all his grandchildren, family and anyone who knew him who was game enough to call him Jamby. The name Jamby came about courtesy of his first grandchild Joshua.

Joe was your typical knockabout bloke who loved a punt, a beer, a good laugh and was a weekend warrior who had a passion for renovations and would always have a project on the go. He loved working with all his tools, about which he was very methodical. He had a passion for cars, but his pride and joy was his gold Mercedes Benz.

He was diagnosed later in life with depression and anxiety and spent his last three years in Akooramak.

This is a horrible disease, as it doesn't discriminate and our awareness seems to be limited.

Who could ever imagine Joe to be depressed? He always had a smile on his face, loved playing pranks on everyone and enjoying a laugh.

He seemed happy to everyone who crossed his path no matter what walk of life, he had time for everyone. None of his family knew the demons he was facing; he never showed this side publicly.

Joe suffered in silence and masked this for a very long time until finally diagnosed. He was your typical guy, he never spoke about it, as when he was growing up this was seen as a weakness and he never had the support or awareness around him back then to open up. Although there is more support and awareness today regarding depression and anxiety, it is still a major concern in our society.

His family encourages support for Beyond Blue, RUOK and Livin.

Joe was a true gentleman, a loving husband, father, grandfather, great- grandfather and a friend to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him and his endless generosity to the community over the years will never be forgotten.